Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Future of Automation - Trends, Predictions

The Future of Industrial Automation - Because of the relatively small production volumes and huge varieties of applications, industrial automation typically utilizes new technologies developed in other markets. Automation companies tend to customize products for specific applications and requirements. So the innovation comes from targeted applications, rather than any hot, new technology.

The Future of Automation - Advances in computer and automated systems technology have impacted the entire manufacturing enterprise. CASA/SME developed and uses the Manufacturing Enterprise Wheel as a framework for understanding the different elements and relationships of the manufacturing enterprise. Examples of automation technology can easily be found that impact each area of the wheel, including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Workflow Management, and Knowledge-Based Design, to name a few.

Avoid Disasters for Automation's Future: Could this Happen to You? - Past analysis has attributed so many aircraft accidents to human error. Yet at a closer look, we could trace quite a few back to design issues. The Airbus philosophy was to give the computer final authority when there was a discrepancy with the pilot. Although there could be a good reason for this, we aren't at the point where we can build software to account for every possible condition. Trusting software above human intelligence and flexibility may be a mistake. At least three other Airbus accidents resulted in hundreds of deaths due to similar computer-versus-pilot control issues.Are all operating parameters documented and accounted for in your design? Might the safety requirements differ during different plant operating phases, such as start-up, operation, maintenance, and shutdown? Have you considered and reviewed factors like these during your hazard analyses? Make sure you account for the impact of spurious sensor signals in the rest of the system design and operations

Future Automation Flat Screen Lifts - The Future Automation Inverted Plasma lift allows a plasma screen to be stored in a ceiling. Press the remote control and the plasma will drop in to view. The mechanism also opens a trap door in the ceiling before lowering the plasma. A matching piece of ceiling above the plasma then fills the opening in the top of the cabinet when the plasma is down

A Model for Types and Levels of Human Interaction with Automation - Here you find the outline of a model for types and levels of automation that provides a framework and an objective basis for deciding which system functions should be automated and to what extent. Appropriate selection is important because automation does not merely supplant but changes human activity and can impose new coordination demands on the human operator. We propose that automation can be applied to four broad classes of functions: 1) information acquisition; 2) information analysis; 3) decision and action selection; and 4) action implementation

The Hottest Trends in Automation & Technology - Automation and technology systems are exerting more influence on the way businesses run. And as automated systems and technologies get more ubiquitous and powerful, they are also becoming more invisible, with many imbedded intelligent devices undetectable to passersby.CAD/CAM software is improving its process planning capabilities, which "involves finding the right tool to do the right job

Modern Trends in Industrial Automation, Process Control and Robotics - Globalisation, growing Technology and their development increasingly influence Automation in industry. And, it plays an important role in the global economy and in our daily lives. The most effective and visible part of modern Industrial automation is the industrial robotics. Fully automated process control Robots have contributed greatly to improve the productivity of virtually all manufacturing industries throughout the world. And, almost all the process monitoring systems installed as a part of plant or production process are basically Digital Control Systems DCS connected by digital networks.

Design Automation for Deepsubmicron: Present and Future - Advancing technology drives design technology and thus design automation (EDA). How to model interconnect, how to handle degradation of signal integrity and increasing power density are changing now, and have led to integrating logic and layout synthesis. Aggressive gate sizing to control timing has become part of any modern back-end. From 0.13 μ and down, chips will be more susceptive to breakdown during fabrication (antenna effect) or to wear out over time (electromigration) and dealing with these issues will require careful planning. More integration of fast and accurate analysis with a complete design flow (chip planning, synthesis, placement and routing) will be needed, and still, advancing complexity will affect design and verification

Future Trends in Process Automation - The importance of automation in the process industries has increased dramatically in recent years. In the highly industrialized countries, process automation serves to enhance product quality, master the whole range of products, improve process safety and plant availability, efficiently utilize resources and lower emissions. In the rapidly developing countries, mass production is the main motivation for applying process automation. The greatest demand for process automation is in the chemical industry, power generating industry, and petrochemical industry; the fastest growing demand for hardware, standard software and services of process automation is in the pharmaceutical industry. The importance of automation technology continues to increase in the process industries